When is Chemotherapy indicated in Advanced Luminal Breast Cancer?

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1 When is Chemotherapy indicated in Advanced Luminal Breast Cancer? Soo-Chin Lee Head & Senior Consultant Department of Haematology-Oncology Clinical Care National University Cancer Institute, Singapore Education Senior Principal Investigator Cancer Science Institute, Singapore Research

2 Who still cares about Chemotherapy for Luminal Breast Cancers in this era of CDK4/6 Inhibitors? Chemotherapy CDK4/6 inhibitor

3 What is Luminal Breast Cancer? Intrinsic Subtypes by Gene Expression Profiling Molecular testing (e.g., PAM50) not routinely done in the clinic Surrogate markers usually used (ER, PR, HER2, grade, Ki67) LUMINAL A HER2 - ER+/PR+ (high expression) Low grade Low proliferative index (Ki67) Concordance between surrogate markers vs gene expression profiling 60-80% LUMINAL B (Heterogeneous group) HER2 - ER/PR+ (low expression) OR ER+/PR- OR ER-/PR+ High grade/ High proliferative index (Ki67) HER2 + ER and/or PR + Low/high grade Low/high proliferative index Perou et al. PNAS 2001, 98(19):

4 Systemic Treatment Options for Luminal Breast Cancers LUMINAL A HER2 - ER+/PR + Low grade Low proliferative index (Ki67) HER2 - LUMINAL B ER/PR+ (low expression) OR ER+/PR- OR ER-/PR+ High grade/ High proliferative index HER2 + ER and/or PR + Low/high grade Low/high proliferative index Endocrine Therapy* Chemotherapy Endocrine Therapy Chemotherapy Anti-HER2 Therapy *+/- biological agent (CDK4/6 inhibitors, mtor inhibitors)

5 General Principles in Treatment of Metastatic Breast Cancer Treatment goals (non-curative): Prolong overall survival if possible Relieve symptoms, preserve quality of life Treatment with higher response rate is preferred if tumor burden is high (to treat or prevent crisis) Sequential treatment in metastatic breast cancer Treatment 1 Treatment 2 Treatment 3 Treatment 4 Treatment 5 Treatment that prolongs overall survival is preferentially given (usually in early line) If none of the available treatment options improves overall survival, then the least toxic effective regimen is preferred

6 Chemotherapy vs Endocrine Therapy in Advanced Luminal Breast Cancers 1. Does chemotherapy confer a survival advantage (compared to endocrine therapy)? 2. Is there a subset of luminal breast cancers for which chemotherapy confers survival advantage? 3. Does chemotherapy have higher response rate than endocrine therapy to be a better choice when there is an impending crisis? 4. Is the tumor (still) sensitive to endocrine therapy?

7 Chemotherapy alone vs Endocrine Therapy alone for Metastatic Breast Cancer Cochrane review; 10 trials ( ) OS data in 6 trials (n=692) Favors endocrine therapy Favors chemo More toxicities with chemotherapy No difference in overall mortality Wilcken et al. Cochrane Library 2003

8 Chemotherapy vs Endocrine Therapy in Advanced Luminal Breast Cancers 1. Does chemotherapy confer a survival advantage (compared to endocrine therapy)? 2. Is there a subset of luminal breast cancers for which chemotherapy confers survival advantage? 3. Does chemotherapy have higher response rate than endocrine therapy to be a better choice when there is an impending crisis? 4. Is the tumor (still) sensitive to endocrine therapy?

9 HR+, HER2+ Metastatic Breast Cancer Anti-HER2 + Endocrine Therapy improved PFS but not OS HER2+, HR+ MBC (TAnDEM) N=207 (Phase 3 randomized) No prior chemo; prior hormonal therapy allowed R Anastrozole Trastuzumab + Anastrozole HER2+, HR+ MBC, n=219 No prior treatment for MBC R Letrozole Lapatinib + Letrozole PFS PFS 4.8 vs 2.4 months P= vs 3.0 months P=0.019 OS 28.5 vs 23.9 months, p=0.325 OS 33.3 vs 32.3 months, p=0.113 Kaufmann et al. J Clin Oncol, 2009; 27: ; Johnston et al. J Clin Oncol 2009; 27:

10 HER2+ Metastatic Breast Cancer Anti-HER2 + Chemotherapy improved PFS and OS HER2+ MBC, First-line N=469, 60% HR+ CLEOPATRA, HER2+ MBC First-line; N=808, 50% HR+ R Paclitaxel or anthracyclines Paclitaxel or anthracyclines R Trastuzumab + Docetaxel Trastuzumab + Docetaxel Trastuzumab Pertuzumab Median OS 20.3 vs 25.1 months, p=0.046 Chemo + Trastuzumab Chemo OS 40.8 vs 56.5 months HR 0.68 P<0.001 HR+ subset, HR 0.71 OS Slamon et al. NEJM 2001, 344: ; Swain et al. NEJM 2015, 372:

11 Impact of First-line Treatments on Survival of HER2+ Metastatic Breast Cancer Overall survival Pertuzumab + trastuzumab + docetaxel (any HR), 56 months (CLEOPATRA, 50% HR+) Trastuzumab + Endocrine (HR+), 30 months Endocrine Therapy alone (HR+), 30 months Trastuzumab + Chemo (any HR), 25 months Chemotherapy alone (any HR), 20 months * No trials comparing anti-her2 agent + chemotherapy vs anti-her2 agent + endocrine therapy for HR+/HER2+ MBC Anti-HER2 therapy + chemotherapy is the preferred initial treatment in HER2+ luminal breast cancer in view of overall survival benefit Exception: older patient with limited life expectancy from other co-morbidities, very low disease burden (e.g., bone only), highly endocrine sensitive

12 Chemotherapy vs Endocrine Therapy in Advanced Luminal Breast Cancers 1. Does chemotherapy confer a survival advantage (compared to endocrine therapy)? 2. Is there a subset of luminal breast cancers for which chemotherapy confers survival advantage? 3. Does chemotherapy have higher response rate than endocrine therapy to be a better choice when there is an impending crisis? 4. Is the tumor (still) sensitive to endocrine therapy?

13 Chemotherapy alone vs Endocrine Therapy alone for Metastatic Breast Cancer Cochrane review; 10 trials ( ) Treatment response data in 8 trials (n=817) Favors endocrine therapy Favors chemo Tumor Response Rate Very old trials HER2 status not known ER/PR status may not be known Favors chemotherapy Wilcken et al. Cochrane Library 2003

14 Chemotherapy vs Endocrine-based Therapy ER+ Breast Cancer (Neoadjuvant) Phase II randomized, N=239 Postmenopausal, ER+, Neoadjuvant R Letrozole or Exemestane x 3 months Doxorubicin/Paclitaxel x 4 cycles ORR Time to pcr response 64% 57 days 3% 64% 51 days 6% UNICANCER-NeoPAL Study Post-menopausal, Stage II-III ER+, HER2-; PAM50 luminal A or B N=106 randomized Luminal B: 89% ORR 75% pcr 4% Chemotherapy vs Endocrine therapy No difference in survival Higher response rate Shorter time to respond R Letrozole + palbociclib x 19 weeks FEC x 3 Docetaxel x 3 76% 6% Semiglazov et al. Cancer 2007;110(2):244-54; Cottu et al. ESMO 2017

15 Systemic Treatment of HR+ Advanced Breast Cancer Clinical Practice Guidelines (NCCN, ASCO, ESMO) Patients whose tumors express any level of hormone receptors should be offered endocrine therapy, unless there is immediately life-threatening disease (ASCO) or visceral crisis (NCCN), in which case chemotherapy would be indicated Sequential endocrine therapy is recommended in the absence of endocrine resistance Patridge et al. JCO 2014; 32: Rugo et al. JCO 2016, 34:

16 Chemotherapy vs Endocrine Therapy in Advanced Luminal Breast Cancers 1. Does chemotherapy confer a survival advantage (compared to endocrine therapy)? 2. Is there a subset of luminal breast cancers for which chemotherapy confers survival advantage? 3. Does chemotherapy have higher response rate than endocrine therapy to be a better choice when there is an impending crisis? 4. Is the tumor (still) sensitive to endocrine therapy?

17 Types of Endocrine Resistance IMPACT trial Post-menopausal ER+, n=330 R Tamoxifen x 12 weeks Anastrozole x 12 weeks Tamoxifen + Anastrozole x 12 weeks Serial biopsy at baseline, 2 weeks and 12 weeks to assess Ki67 (Ki67 is a marker of response to endocrine therapy) S U R G Acquired resistance De Novo Resistance Endocrine sensitive Dowsett et al. Clin Can Res 2005; 11(2): 951s-958s; Anderson et al. SABCS 2009

18 Key Questions about Endocrine Resistance in Metastatic Breast Cancer How common is this? Can these patients be reliably identified before treatment? When is the patient considered endocrine resistant (or refractory) such that further endocrine-based therapies will be futile? DE NOVO RESISTANCE ACQUIRED RESISTANCE (all patients, a matter of time)

19 How common is De Novo Endocrine Resistance in Metastatic Breast Cancer? FIRST-LINE ER+, HER2- CDK4/6i trials PALOMA-2 N=666 Treatment Letrozole Letrozole + Palbociclib No clinical benefit rate 30% 15% De novo resistance 30% endocrine therapy 20% endocrine + CDK4/6i MONALEESA-2 N=668 Letrozole Letrozole + Ribiociclib 30% 27% MONARCH-3 N=493 Letrozole or Anastrozole Letrozole or Anastrozole + Abemaciclib 28% 22% According to the guidelines*, only <5-10% of patients will be given first-line chemotherapy, but de novo resistance occurs in 20-30% of patients (i.e., progress within 3 months). Does this matter? *Start with endocrine therapy in the absence of life threatening disease Finn et al. NEJM 2016; 375: ; Hortobagyi et al NEJM 2016; 375: Goetz et al. J Clin Oncol 2017; 35: ; Turner et al. NEJM 2015; 373: ; Sledge et al. JCO 2017, 35(25):

20 Choosing the Wrong Treatment may result in Loss of Opportunity for Further Treatment After failure of first-line therapy, a proportion of patients cannot undergo second-line therapy due to rapid disease progression Study 2 nd line 3 rd line 4 th line 5 th line Dufresne et al, % 56% 25% 11% Tacca et al, % 68% 43% 23% Bernardo et al, % 82% 36% 11% Planchat et al, % 76% 56% 37% Jackish et al, % 70% 46% 27% About one-third of patients stop their treatment with each new line of therapy Harbeck, ABC4 2017; Dufresne et al, Breast Cancer Res Treat 2008, 107: 275-9; Tacca et al. Cancer Invest 2009; 27: 81-5; Bernardo et al. Cancer Res 2010; 70 (24 Suppl): 446s, Planchat et al, Breast 2011; 20: 574-8; Jackish et al, BMC Cancer, 2014; 14: 924

21 Can Primary Endocrine Resistance be reliably predicted? Endocrine sensitivity is a continuum, influenced by multiple factors High Low Low ER/PR EXPRESSION (percentage/intensity) GRADE PROLIFERATIVE INDEX (E.G,. KI67) Low High High HIGH ENDOCRINE SENSITIVITY First-line endocrine therapy alone ER+/HER2-: median PFS 14 months ER+/HER2+: median PFS 3 months Loss of PR HER2+ LOW ORR to 1st-line therapy AI: 40%; AI + CDK4/6i: 55% If there is accessibility/affordability, AI + CDK4/6i is a good alternative to chemotherapy in this setting If the predicted endocrine sensitivity is low, and the patient has a high tumor burden (not amounting to a crisis), chemotherapy may be warranted Kaufmann et al. J Clin Oncol, 2009; 27: ; Johnston et al. J Clin Oncol 2009; 27: ; Finn et al. NEJM 2016; 375: ; Hortobagyi et al NEJM 2016; 375: ; Goetz et al. J Clin Oncol 2017; 35: ; Turner et al. NEJM 2015; 373: ; Sledge et al. JCO 2017, 35(25):

22 Real world use of Chemotherapy vs Endocrine Therapy in HR+ Advanced Breast Cancers Global Oncology Monitor (physician-based syndicated patient record database) Post-menopausal, HR+/HER2- advanced/metastatic breast cancers 5 European countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK) and USA, Jan 2012 to Dec 2014 N = in Europe and in USA (every 3 months) Europe FIRST-LINE THERAPY USA Endocrine therapy only, 50-55% Chemotherapy only, 35% Chemotherapy + biologics Endocrine therapy only, 55-60% Chemotherapy only, 35-40% Endocrine therapy + biologics Characteristics of patients given first-line chemotherapy: Younger, less co-morbidity, more than bone metastases, more liver metastases, more prior adjuvant systemic therapy Lobbezoo et al. Ann Oncol 2016; 27: ; Bonotto et al. The Breast 2017: Andre et al. Cur Med Res and Opinion, 2014; 30(6); Caldeira et al. Oncol Ther 2016; 4(1);

23 Predicting Endocrine Resistance from Prior Treatment Response Trial of therapy may be one of the most reliable ways to determine endocrine sensitivity IMPACT (n=158); neoadjuvant tamoxifen or AI or combination Post-treatment Ki67 at 2 weeks predicts endocrine sensitivity better than baseline Ki67 RFS RFS Baseline Ki67 (tertiles) Post-treatment Ki67 at 2 weeks (tertiles) Dowsett et al. JNCI 2007; 99:

24 HIGH Predicting Endocrine Resistance from Prior Treatment Response ENDOCRINE SENSITIVITY LOW Prior Adjuvant Endocrine Therapy ADJUVANT ENDOCRINE THERAPY (5-10 years) Relapse within 2 years PRIMARY RESISTANCE (remote chance of response) Relapse after the first 2 years ACQUIRED RESISTANCE (low chance of response) Relapse 12 months of completing adjuvant endocrine therapy ACQUIRED RESISTANCE (some chance of response) Relapse >12 months of completing adjuvant endocrine therapy ENDOCRINE SENSITIVE (good chance of response) PALLIATIVE ENDOCRINE THERAPY Progress within 3 months PRIMARY RESISTANCE (remote chance of response) Progress between 3-6 months PRIMARY RESISTANCE (low chance of response) Progress after 6 months ACQUIRED RESISTANCE (some chance of response) Progress after 12 months ACQUIRED RESISTANCE (good chance of response) 2016 ESO-ESMO International Consensus Guidelines for Advanced Breast Cancer

25 Special Imaging to Predict Endocrine Resistance 18 F-FES-PET N=90 ER+, HER2- breast cancers For endocrine therapy (63% AI, 22% AI + fulvestrant, 15% others) FDG-PET and FES-PET (16α[ 18 F]fluoro-17β-estradiol) imaging prior to endocrine therapy FES high PFS Low FDG P<0.001 FES low High FDG High FES FES high 3 kinds of tumor lesions - FDG low (indolent) - FDG high, FES high (likely endocrine sensitive) - FDG high, FES low (likely endocrine resistant) High FDG Low FES Kurland et al. Clin Cancer Res, 2016; 23(2):

26 Special Blood Tests (circulating tumor DNA [ctdna]) to Track Endocrine Resistance N=83 Metastatic breast cancer, first-line aromatase inhibitor 3-monthly collection of plasma for ctdna, until progression - digital droplet PCR and enhanced tagged amplicon sequencing Lead time to development of ESR1 mutations ESR1 mutations were detectable in plasma median 6.7 months before clinical progression Fribbens et al. Ann Oncol Oct 2017

27 Treatment Algorithm for Advanced Luminal Breast Cancers MOST LUMINAL BREAST CANCERS Start chemotherapy when endocrine resistance develops Start chemotherapy when endocrine resistance develops Start chemotherapy when endocrine resistance develops Best 1 st line Endocrine +/- Biological agent Best 2 nd line Endocrine Tx (+/- Biological agent)?3 rd /4 th /5 th line Endocrine Tx Chemotherapy Determining endocrine resistance Prior response to endocrine therapy Tumor factors (degree of ER/PR expression, HER2, grade, Ki67, etc) Future special tests (e.g., FES imaging, ctdna) Delay chemotherapy as long as possible with novel therapeutic strategies to overcome endocrine resistance HER2+ LUMINAL BREAST CANCER (for overall survival benefit) VISCERAL CRISIS/LIFE THREATENING DISEASE (for response) PREDICTED RELATIVE ENDOCRINE RESISTANCE + NARROW WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY TO TREAT (for response) Start with Chemotherapy Sequential Endocrine Therapies +/- Biological agent until endocrine resistance Chemotherapy DIAGNOSIS Start chemotherapy when endocrine resistance develops DEATH

28 1910 Ad Good old chemotherapy can still be counted upon in advanced luminal breast cancer!